In this era of downloads and internet shopping, more and more people are deprived of the joy of browsing through racks of cds, looking for bargains, surprises, or just that special recording.

Grove Music, downstairs at The Grove Bookshop, offers a wide range of classical new releases, jazz on cd and vinyl, and a back catalogue of classic recordings in folk, jazz, classical and rock music. Rediscover the joy of browsing in our cosy basement shop.

Spring on The Grove

Mon 8th Apr 13

The sunshine this weekend gave us a welcome glimpse of what Spring is supposed to look like and, in the book world, one of the clearest signs that winter is finally over is the annual publication of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. This year is a special one, as Wisden celebrates its 150th anniversary, and we will have the very latest edition, packed as usual with articles, reports, scorecards, records and fixtures, on sale from Thursday. For those who don't have such deep, or capacious pockets, we'll also have that much smaller institution, the pocket-sized Playfair Cricket Annual, with facts and figures about all of the players featuring in domestic cricket this season.

I was up on Ilkley Moor on Saturday, enjoying the fresh air, the amazing views and the inspiring Stanza Stones poetry project. Although Simon Armitage's poems were only published in a limited edition, we have the free Trail Guide in stock, and Simon's latest book, Walking Home, has just come out in paperback. It tells the story of his journey along the Pennine Way and is part of our great 4 for 3 promotion. Other new paperbacks included in this offer are Michael Frayn's hilarious farce, Skios, National Treasure Clare Balding's pet memoir, My Animals and Other Family and the blockbuster to end all blockbusters, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. This new edition features a tantalising preview of Brown's imminent Inferno, in which symbologist Robert Langdon searches Dante's poem for clues to solve a great mystery.

I generally have my doubts about the "if you liked that, you'll love this" style of recommending books, but as a huge fan of Robert MacFarlane's The Old Roads, I would very much like to recommend something by Charles Rangeley-Wilson, entitled Silt Road - The Story of a Lost River. The author discovers a stream that was once a river, and explores its history, the lives it has touched and its effect on the landscape, and it is a most fascinating book.

Two more books to mention; Julian Barnes has produced a remarkable rumination on "ballooning, photography, love and grief," entitled Levels of Life while, in contrast, Caroline Paul's search for a lost cat has resulted in the publication of Lost Cat - a True Story of Love, Desperation and G.P.S. Technology,which is illustrated with wonderful pen-and-ink drawings by Wendy MacNaughton. All this and more is available in your favourite, local, independent bookshop!

The 2018 Ilkley Lit Fest is underway! So far, we've enjoyed wonderful events with John Simpson, Nadiya Hussain, Patrick Gale and many more. Grove Bookshop will be at most of the events, come over and say hello. There are lots of fantastic events still to come with tickets available for many. In the shop, we will have signed books after most of the events, but in limited stock, so come soon to avoid disappointment! Visit the Festival website for more information about the speakers. www.ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk